NYT: Rigs ready, but no work

The official moratorium against new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has ended, but there is a "permatorium," a de facto ban on the issuing of new offshore oil rig permits.

It's so bad, even the New York Times has noticed:

Although the ban on drilling in the gulf was officially lifted weeks ago, the top regulator for offshore drilling acknowledged Tuesday that permits have been slower in coming as the government stiffened safety requirements and intensified its reviews.

"I feel terrible for the guys on the rig who did nothing wrong," Michael R. Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement, said in an interview. "They are victims."

I just heard on Fox News that $100 a barrel oil could be here soon. The nationwide unemployment rates is 9.8 percent. And the White House flip flopped on expanding offshore drilling exploration.

Drill here, drill now, pay less.

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